Potential January deal between Leicester and Watford touted in press

Out-of-favour Leicester City striker IslamÂ SlimaniÂ is thought to be a January transfer window target forÂ Watford’sÂ Marco Silva as theÂ PortugueseÂ managerÂ looksÂ setÂ to bolster his squad, according to reports in the Mirror.

The two previouslyÂ worked together at Sporting Lisbon and it is believed the Hornets boss remains a fan of the forward.

Algeria’s internationalÂ attacker has fallen down the Leicester peckingÂ order since his Â£28 million arrival at the King Power Stadium 15Â months ago – a club-record signing for the team who were the league championsÂ at the time.

Great things were expected of the striker, but asideÂ from the 12 goals in 40 appearancesÂ he has madeÂ in all competitionsÂ for the team,Â SlimaniÂ finds himself behind Jamie Vardy,Â Shinji Okazaki and Kelechi Iheanacho.

The report suggests a move could take place as earlyÂ asÂ January, but Leicester would have to accept an offer from Watford incomparableÂ to the Â£28m they splashed out on the 29-year-old the summer before last.

Another potential option would be for the Vicarage Road side to take the African hitman on loan.

Leicester attacker SlimaniÂ hasÂ himselfÂ previously admitted that a move to the Hornets nearly materialised in the summer, but after AndreÂ GrayÂ signed for Watford interest died down.

“I had a conversation with Marco Silva, who was my coach at Sporting, and he was very interested in having me on the team,” he told Algerian newspaperÂ LeÂ Buteur.

“He presented me with a magnificent project, but unfortunately it did not materialise. The leaders of Leicester City told me they wanted me here. But they are things of the past, now I am focused on my team.”

WatfordÂ have the best goalscoring record outside of the top five so whether bolstering their attacking options given the club’s fine form in from of goal is necessary, remains to be seen.

But should Silva choose to make a move for Leicester forward SlimaniÂ in January, it could make theÂ prospectÂ of watching the Algerian play alongside TroyÂ Deeney, AndreÂ Gray,Â RicharlisonÂ and co.Â mouthwateringÂ to say the least.

Gareth McKnight is the editor of Ninety Minutes Online and a director of Mudcrab Media. An experienced online and print journalist, Gareth has worked for Goal.com, FourFourTwo, Soccerlens and countless other media sources over the years. He is from Northern Ireland but lives in Western Australia.

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